Alternate Assessments for Students with
Disabilities

Overview

Alternate assessments are used to evaluate the performance
of students who are unable to participate in general state assessments even
with accommodations. Alternate assessments provide a mechanism for students
with the most significant cognitive disabilities, and for other students
with disabilities who may need alternate ways to access assessments, to be
included in an educational accountability system.

There are three types of alternate assessments:

Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards
(AA-AAS), for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. These
assessments are based on the grade-level content covered by the general
assessment, but at reduced depth, breadth, and complexity. These assessments
describe achievement based on what a state determines is a high expectation for
these students.

Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement
Standards (AA-MAS), for students with disabilities who are working on
grade-level content that is covered on the general assessment but whose
disabilities may result in their needing more time to master the content. These
assessments measure a student's mastery of grade-level content, but are less
difficult than grade-level achievement standards. This is an optional assessment and
many states that currently offer this option are phasing it out.

Alternate Assessments Based on Grade-level Achievement Standards
(AA-GLAS), for students with disabilities who need testing formats or procedures
that are not included in the general assessment or not addressed with use of
accommodations. These assessments include the same grade-level content as the
general assessment and describe achievement in the same way as the general
assessment.

The primary purpose for alternate assessments in state
assessment systems is to increase the capacity of large-scale accountability
systems to create information about how a school, district, or state is doing in
terms of overall student performance. Gathering data on the performance of
students through alternate assessments requires rethinking traditional
assessment methods. An alternate assessment is neither a traditional large-scale
assessment nor an individualized diagnostic assessment. For students with
disabilities, alternate assessments can be administered to students who differ
greatly in their ability to respond to stimuli, solve problems, and provide
responses.

The links below provide additional information and resources for
each of the three types of alternate assessments.

NCEO is supported primarily through a Cooperative Agreement (#H326G050007,
#H326G110002)
with the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs,
U.S. Department of Education. Additional support for targeted projects,
including those on LEP students, is provided by other federal and state
agencies. The Center is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration
at the College of Education and Human Development,
University of Minnesota. Opinions expressed in this Web site do not necessarily reflect those
of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it.